What A Bad Day Can Lead To
by anna1991
Summary: Steph has a real bad day. Good to know that there will always be one man she can count on... right?
1. Chapter 1

My life sucks. And no, I'm not exaggerating. I'm 32 years old, I'm a cake addict, own a hamster and struggle to pay my rent. And I'm a bounty hunter. Which is the reason for my money problems, because even if my capture record is quite impressive, I'm the worst bounty hunter Trenton has ever seen. I don't know on how many days per week I have to pick all kinds of gruesome stuff out of my crazy hair or have to either call the police or Ranger for help after one of my skips has gotten the better of me, only to be yelled at by my on-and-off-again boyfriend Joe Morelli as soon as he learns about my newest escapade in the evening.

And that's the strange thing. Even though Ranger aka Man of Mystery aka Batman aka YUMM! is the one who saves my neck over and over again, at the end of the day, I always find myself in Joe's company, first in either his or my kitchen, then in front of the TV and later in bed. Not that I complain, Joe is quite talented in this field, but even though that is the only exercise I'm willingly putting myself through, I have to admit that lately my relationship with Joe kind of tires me out. And that's why I was on my way to him. Because yesterday, after two weeks into one of our off-periods, Joe came by my apartment with some pizza in one hand and a few bottles of beer in the other. We moved through our usual course of events of kitchen, couch, bedroom. Then he got a call from the police department and he had to go. I couldn't help staring at his nice ass while he put on his shoes- which Joe noticed. He grinned and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "You know, the boys have missed you," he said, before giving me another kiss and leaving.

And that was it. The boys missed me. Freaking two weeks of no contact and all he had to say was that his libido was glad we had apparently moved to an on-period again. Hell, if the definition of a relationship was to have earth-shattering orgasms, then I was pretty sure I had one with my shower head. What Joe and I had was more friends with benefits. Only without the benefits but with lots of shouting and arm waving.

I gulped when I stopped in front of Morelli's house. I was about to do something adult, meaning something sensible and smart. Usually things went terribly wrong when I tried that. With a sigh I got out of my sorry excuse of a car. It was frosty enough outside that the choice of breaking up with Joe in a nice, warm living room was more appealing to me than getting back behind the wheel and keep freezing my ass off.

I knocked at the door and immediately heard Bob, Morelli's dog, bark like crazy. God, I'd miss him! Maybe I should've brought him a pair of trainers to chew on as a goodbye present. Damn, that would've been a really good excuse for not exercising. Sorry Ranger, can't run with you, got no shoes!

"Cupcake? Anyone home?"

I blinked. Morelli was right in front of me. "Uh... sorry, I kind of zoned out here. You busy?" Please, say yes! Suddenly the idea of climbing back in my ice cube of a car and get the hell away from here didn't sound so bad anymore.

"No, Bob and I've just gotten back from taking a walk. You want to come in?" His sexy smile was totally unsuspecting. Oh God, I couldn't do this! I was nuts to throw away what we had!

Thirty minutes later I was pretty sure that I'd been nuts to stay with him for so long. It was clear to me now that Joe and I wanted completely different things. He wanted us to marry, pop out a couple of children and live a nice, calm Burg-approved life. Marriage was my personal nightmare, which _might_ be down to the fact that my ex-husband had been polishing the dining table with the naked ass of my archenemy Joyce Bernhardt just about five minutes after we had signed our marriage certificate. Children scared the bejeezus out of me since even my hamster Rex could consider himself lucky for having survived this long. And my job as a bounty hunter kind of clashed with the respectable life as a Burg wife that Joe wanted me to live. So after we had been yelling to each other for about half an hour, I was positive that we were over once and for all. The last five minutes of our conversation had been more calm as we admitted to the other that maybe both of us were to blame for the fact that our relationship had failed. We'd hugged, decided to avoid seeing each other for a few weeks and agreed on trying to be friends again after a while. Pretty adult, huh?

So, what now? I didn't feel like going home and mourning, so I decided to get rid of my money problems by catching a few skips. I pulled up in front of the bond office five minutes later. Lula's firebird was nowhere to be seen, which I was really glad for. She was a great friend, but I didn't feel like going over the whole thing with Morelli again now, and Conny was more likely to give me a break.

"Hey," I said or at least tried to, for my voice was halfway gone after my yelling match with Joe.

Conny narrowed her eyes to slits and pointed a finger at me. "Aha! So it's true! Lula just called and told me she was told that your mother was told you broke up with Joe!" Secret service didn't stand a chance against the Burg's information network. Crap, I'd hoped my mother wouldn't get the news until tomorrow or so.

"Yupp, and this time it's permanent. No going back to Morelli. I'm single and I'm happy with it. I'm Wonderwoman. I'm strong and indepen... God, do you have a doughnut?" By now tears were running down my cheeks, getting my face all red and blotchy.

"Oh Honey!" Conny hurried to push a Tasty Pastry box over the desk and I started to stuff its sugar-covered contents in my mouth.

"I don't even know why I'm crying! I'm glad it's over, but..." I felt how the tears choked me until all I managed to get out was a faint whisper. "I think I miss being with him already, no matter how crappy it was. Do you have any files for me? I need to get my mind off things."

Conny nodded and pushed a folder in my waiting hand. "Ed Miller, 65. He was drunk and punched a barkeeper when the man didn't serve him another drink. He lives a few miles outside the city. You sure you should work today?" She sounded concerned. I managed a rather unconvincing smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. Guess I just needed a good cry, I..." And with that the whisper vanished into nothingness. While my lips moved, not a sound left my mouth. I hectically tried to clear my throat but apparently my voice had decided it needed a vacation. I pulled at my hair. How was I supposed to capture my skip when I couldn't even talk? Crap, crap, crap! I stared at Conny, my eyes begging her to help me.

She sighed. "I still think you should go home, but if you insist..." She grabbed some paper and a pencil and began to write something. I tilted my head to read what she was writing. _BOND ENFORCEMENT. You missed your court date. I am here to take you to the courthouse so you can reinstate your bail bond. _I raised my eyebrows, meaning 'You think that's gonna work?'

Conny just shrugged. "It's along the lines of your usual approach, isn't it?"

I sighed, nodded, grabbed the paper and waved goodbye. Great. Not only was I freshly single and in a bad mood, now I'd lost my voice, too. Maybe all the screaming earlier wasn't so good for my vocal cords.

I got behind the wheel and threw a look at the file. Jeez, Ed Miller looked like he only grabbed a shower once a year. And the next washing day was definitely due. I look for the address and noticed that Conny had been right. It wasn't too far, but I had to drive a while. I looked at my fuel gage. Huh, didn't seem like the fuel fairy had stopped by while I was at Joe's. Screw this. I deserved some luck. My relationship was over, no replacement in sight, my bank account resembled a black hole and my voice was gone. Hear that, karma? You owe me some luck! I expect the fuel to last until I have my body receipt!

After I'd stopped to grab a coffee to go, I was on my way to Miller's house. The road was bumpy as hell, so I had to grab the coffee really tight in order not to cover my lap with the boiling hot liquid. It helped against the cold, though, which was good because my heater had apparently joined my voice on its trip to Haiti. Clearly luck hadn't yet realized it was supposed to be on my side, or else the heater would have died in summer when the chances of freezing my ass off were rather slim.

When I finally arrived in front of the shack that Miller called his home, my teeth were chattering and my nails were beginning to turn a lovely shade of blue - who needs nail polish?

Just in case that something went wrong – not _that_ unlikely with my current run of bad luck – I put my stun gun and cellphone in my pocket. I slung my purse over my shoulder, grabbed the piece of paper and my coffee and made my way over to the rickety door. Hmpf, even I could probably kick that one open. Instead of pulling a mighty Wonder Woman move and pulverizing the door, I decided to remember my Burg upbringing and knocked, which was already kind of hard as both my hands were occupied. I neither wanted to abandon the sheet nor the coffee, so I just banged my elbow against the wood a few times. What? I was still knocking!

I heard movement from inside. Someone was cursing and grumbling behind the door. There was a faint 'click' when Miller slid back the deadbolt, and then he presented himself in all his glorious birthday suit. Ewwww, gross! What was it with men over 60 and their weenies? I bet the skips that Rangeman got _never_ opened their doors in nothing but their own wrinkled skin! I looked Miller strictly in the eyes, hoping that if I ignored his currently undressed state long enough, clothes would miraculously appear on his body. Didn't happen, though. I forced a smile on my lips.

"What?" the old nudist bellowed. I widened my smile and hold up the paper for him to read it. When his gaze wandered to my face again, his mouth hanging slightly open, I pointed at my throat, then repeatedly touched my thumb with my index and middle finger while shaking my head. No voice, that meant.

A frown appeared on Miller's forehead. His gaze wandered over my frame, lingered on the cup in my hand, moved to the paper again and then found my eyes. "You bond enforcement?" he asked.

Me Tarzan, you Jane! Duh! Still, I nodded.

"You ain't got no voice?" Phew, Einstein is alive! Hell, what a dumbass. I hold back a world-class eye roll and just shook my head no and looked sad. "That hot coffee you got there?" he asked. I glanced down at my hand, then nodded suspiciously. Why would he ask about my coffee?

Before I could even blink, he snatched the cup away from me and retreated back inside the hut. "I ain't going to jail. Next time, bring more coffee!" And he shut the door in my face. My jaw was about to hit the floor. That was MY coffee! That stupid son of a bitch had stolen my coffee! I banged my fist at the door. I would have yelled at him to open the damn door, but my voice was still gone. I hadn't really expected him to open the door again, so I totally blame my surprise for the fact that I didn't stop him when he grabbed my handbag as well. "Now get lost, before I take your clothes, too!" he bellowed and slammed the door shut again. My... my purse! My mascara was in there! And at least one Tastykake! My hairspray, my sun glasses and a body receipt that hadn't yet been turned into money on my bank account! Miller was SO gonna pay for stealing that! Well, at least he didn't have my cellphone. The phone was in my pocket, as well as the stun gun and my car keys. And there was no cash in my purse. I'd spent the last of it on my coffee.

I critically looked at the door. It was worth a try. With a mute Karate Kid "Haaaaaaaya!" I aimed a mighty kick at the door. All I got from that was a faint creak from the door and a mighty pain from my toe. Holy shit! I'd just broken my toe! Crap, crap, crap! My teary eyes shot daggers at the damn door. Uuh, you just wait, Miller! Fear the wrath of Stephanie Plum! Still cursing in my head, I hobbled back to my car. I planned to drive back to my apartment, grab my gun from the cookie jar, load it, come back and shoot that damn door open. Then I'd stun Miller and drag his sorry ass to the police station. Or maybe there'd be an unfortunate yet random accident and a bullet would somehow find its way in Millers spongy ass.

I grunted when my fingers touched the steering wheel. Jeez, did it **have** to be that cold? The motor came to life with a sickly cough, the wheels crawled forward – and stopped after ten seconds when my car broke down. You're freaking kidding me! Incredulously, I stared at my fuel gage. There wasn't a drop left in my tank. Karma was a bitch! I banged my forehead against the wheel. Beep! Beep! Beep! Nothing worked, but count on the horn! So, now what? As the fuel fairy obviously was busy doing who knows what, I was kind of stuck out here. Calling Morelli was totally out of the question. No way was I calling him 15 minutes after I broke up with him! I decided to try Dad, maybe he could come get me. I fumbled for my phone, dialed his number and... nothing. Nada. No reception. I tore my hair. So I was in the middle of nowhere, my purse was gone, my car wouldn't move an inch and my phone was useless. Fucking great! Tears brunt behind my eyes and I tossed the phone in the back of my car. Useless piece of shit! I pulled my knees to my chin, hid behind my crazy hair and succumbed to my misery.


	2. Chapter 2

I came to realize how much I actually LOVE reviews. Thank you to all who left one, I'm glad you like the story. I have a request, though. As English isn't my first language, I'm bound to make mistakes. I won't be mad at you when you correct me. On the contrary, I'll be thankful, so don't hesitate to tell me if I keep making the same mistakes.

I also have a question for the native speakers among my readers: what is the correct way to say that you cannot be reached on your phone? To have no reception is what the dictionary says, no service is what someone in the reviews said and no signal is what I think I have heard before. Or is it a BE/AE thing? Would be nice if anyone knew the answer. Thanks in advance!

* * *

I didn't know how long I had sat there when suddenly the Batman theme song reached my ear. I hit my head on the ceiling in my hurry to scramble to the backseat. It was a really awkward angle that I found myself in, but hey, I'd stay like this for half an hour when that meant that I could talk to someone who would help me. And I heavily doubted that Ranger was going to leave me to my misery. I quickly answered the phone, but the relieved "Ranger!" never left my mouth. All I got out was a faint squeak and something like a loud sigh. Duh, no voice! I had totally forgotten about that!

"Babe? You alright? Tank just called to inform me that your car tracker and the one in your purse are located at two different places. Do you need help?"

I tried again to say something, anything, but I didn't even manage a whisper. Frustrated, I repeatedly punched on the seat next to me. Shit, shit, shit! Why didn't I have a phone with a video function? Then I could just show him my empty tank and he'd understand!

"Babe?" Great, now there was a huge deal of concern in Ranger's voice. "Stephanie, answer me!" He used my whole name. Oh boy, that meant trouble! He never did that unless he was either pissed or in panic. Or rather a state of mild disturbance, which was the Ranger equivalent to panic. At this very moment I remembered that my phone might not have a video function, but it was perfectly able to send him a message! Unfortunately, I had to hang up first, but if I was really quick, he wouldn't mind, would he? I quickly pressed the red receiver and started to type in the message when the phone rang again. I bit on my lip and typed even faster. 'I'm OK, car broke down, have no voice.' That should do it. I was just about to press 'send' when suddenly my phone made a faint beeping sound and the battery went dead. I just stared at the tiny box in my hand. So now I had reception but no battery? Could it get any worse? At this very moment, freezing rain began to hit my windshield. Bite me, Karma! I yelled inside my head. Now I couldn't even go outside to pace up and down in order to keep warm – or to march back to Miller and kick his ass. Badly.

I started to shiver so badly that I almost stabbed myself in the eye with my finger when I attempted to push back a strand of hair. J-j-jj-eez! I tried to curl up into a tight ball, but as there wasn't much room in the front seat, I decided to move to the back and try to make myself as comfortable as possible – which was totally impossible, but a girl could hope, right? I lay there shivering and watched my nails turn a darker blue. I was pretty sure that I could be used as a shredder, I only needed someone to place some paper between my rattling teeth. I managed to lock the car from inside – with my luck, it wasn't that unlikely that Miller decided to come looking for me. I crawled as far into my jacket as I could before closing my eyes in exhaustion. Damn, what a screwed-up day!

~Ranger~

I was in what Steph called my driving zone. I smiled when I pictured her next to me fidgeting on the passenger seat throughout countless surveillances, complaining that her ass was going numb or that she was bored. My smile widened when I thought about the occasions when I had given in to her whining and "distracted" her until boredom was the last thing on her mind. How I loved the way she reacted to me. One smile or a simple touch and all coherent thought was gone, replaced by the blazing fire that would start burning in her eyes and would then travel through that delicious body of hers... Not that I would openly admit it, but she'd managed to turn my own brain to mush once or twice as well. Always be aware of your surroundings, my ass. When Steph was around, the legendary control of Carlos Manoso regularly went out the window. Her grin would stretch from one ear to the other if she ever learned how exactly she affected me.

I was about to swing into the parking lot in front of bond office to see if Connie had any skips for Rangeman when my phone went off. One glance at the screen told me it was Tank.

"Yo."

"Yo, Bossman. Don't know whether it's a reason to be worried or not, but Bombshell's trackers are sending signals from two different places. None is currently moving. You want us to do something?" Even though Tank's voice remained calm, there was some hidden concern in it. My Babe was important to all of my men.

"I'll call her," I said, disconnected and hit speed dial one. My eyes narrowed when she still hadn't answered after the eighth ring. I swore quietly and was about to hang up when she finally answered the phone. Or tried to. The sounds coming from the other side weren't what I had hoped for. I was instantly alert. "Babe? You alright? Tank just called to inform me that your car tracker and the one in your purse are located at two different places. Do you need help?"

I listened closely for any sound in the background that would tell me what was going on, but all I could hear were a couple of thuds that might have been anything from a pillow fight to punches thrown at my woman. Just as I was about to ask her once again, the line suddenly went dead. "Fuck!" I yelled. She would never hang up on me like that when she knew that I was worried about her. I called her again immediately, but this time she wouldn't answer. Swearing under my breath, I called the control room. "Stephanie's coordinates. Now. Of both trackers. Send Brown and whoever else is there to her. Hurry up."

About five seconds later, the GPS in my car flashed up, telling me it had received the information. I wasted no time and hurried to follow the directions given on the screen. Be safe, Babe!

I tried to call her again. It ringed a few times before it went to voicemail. Fuck, fuck, fuck! I hit the gas. I didn't give a shit about the speed limit, as far as I knew, Steph was in deep shit and needed my help. Everybody knew that I wasn't one to panic easily but most of the usual rules I had set for myself didn't apply when Steph was involved. My phone ringed again and I picked up without taking my eyes off the road. "Talk", I barked. It was Tank again. "I called the bonds office. Connie told me the address belonged to a skip, Ed Miller. He isn't supposed to be dangerous; was arrested because he punched a bartender in the face. He lives alone."

The muscles in my arms relaxed slightly. The man wasn't considered dangerous. Not that this would mean anything, Steph was a magnet for all kinds of disasters that went beyond imagination. I desperately hoped this was a false alarm.

"Boss? You okay? Ranger!" I actually flinched. I'd zoned out while I was on the phone with one of my men. Steph was definitely rubbing off on me. "Yeah, just thinking. I'm almost there. I'll call when I know more."

The closer I got to Miller's address, the more I calmed down. I needed to be focused and clear-headed now; it wouldn't do Steph much good if I lost it. When I finally arrived in front of Miller's hut, Steph's car was nowhere to be seen, though according to the information that Tank had given me it shouldn't be far. My eyes automatically scanned the surroundings. There were no signs of a struggle, no blood or drag marks. I put on the bullet-proof vest and checked my weapons, making sure that everything was where I needed it to be. It hurt almost physically to sit here waiting but I wouldn't risk Steph's safety by storming the hut on my own. I didn't know how many people were in there, and if it was more than one person and Steph got hurt because I threw over board everything I had learned in the army... I closed my eyes for a second. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her.

I quickly got out of the car when a Rangeman SUV pulled up. Lester and Bobby were beside me in the blink of an eye, waiting for instructions. Both wore a serious expression. I knew they considered Steph as a friend and would take a bullet for her without blinking. "Bobby and I take the front, Lester, you take the back. As soon as you hear us talking you go in. We don't know if there is anyone else in there besides Miller. If there is and they are making trouble, don't hesitate to do what's necessary to get Steph out unharmed. Questions?" I asked. Both men shook their heads no. We all drew our guns and left the cover of the Porsche. Lester hurried around to the back as Bobby and I walked over to the front door. There were no windows that overlooked the street, so Miller wouldn't be aware of our arrival. My eyes narrowed when I noticed the footprint on the door. Looked like a woman's boot... Brown positioned himself next to the door. We waited a few seconds to give Lester some time to reach the back door, then we gave each other a grim nod and I banged at the door. There were noises coming from inside; someone shuffled to the door. My muscles tensed when the door opened and Miller appeared in front of me. Naked. If that bastard had so much as _touched_ my Babe...

"What?" he grunted and placed his hand in the doorframe. My eyes immediately fixated on the purse in his hand. I'd seen it before in Steph's apartment. With a ferocious growl I stepped forward, lunged at his throat and smashed him into the wall. Bobby was directly behind me, but there was nobody else in the hut. Even though that meant that there was no threat, it also meant that Stephanie wasn't here. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Santos enter through the back door. Miller gave a strangled cry and clutched at my hands.

"Where is she? Where is Stephanie?" I asked, my voice cold as ice with hardly contained, deadly rage. I emphasized my question by tightening my hand around his throat. Unfortunately, that was making it impossible for him to answer and I had to loosen my grip a bit. He coughed and looked at me totally pissed of – until he met my eyes and saw the cold fury in them. He hurried to answer: "Don't know any Stephanie, I swear!" I pressed my gun at his temple. I had no time for stupid lies. "Wrong answer. Think again." Suddenly the smell of urine hit my nostrils. The bastard had wet himself. "I-I-I really do-don't know!" he cried. "Quit the bullshit! That's her purse you are holding, shitface!" Santos hissed behind me. My hand tightened again when Miller's eyes grew big with sudden realization. "The fat-assed chick with the piece of paper? Wanted to bring me in, I took her purse and coffee and kicked her out! She drove off, I swear! Kicked against my fucking door and drove off in that piece of shit car of hers!"

I kept staring him down, waiting for any sign that he was lying. The dick almost passed out. I was lucky he had only pissed himself. "Please! 'm telling the truth!" he choked out as his face was slowly turning blue. I had no intention of letting him go but Bobby placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ranger, I think he is speaking the truth. She's nowhere around and there aren't any signs of a struggle. We need to look for her and see if she's okay." I shot a glare at him. I didn't like to be told what to do, but he was right. I reluctantly loosened my grip on Miller, who slouched down the wall, gasping for air.

"Santos, cuff him and get him in the car. Bobby and I'll go ahead and see if we can find her. I expect you to catch up with us as soon as Miller is taken care of." I didn't take another look at the whimpering waste of time on the floor and strode out of the hut. There was another access-road to Miller's hut. "Steph must have taken that road", Brown said, pointing his chin to where I was already headed. I nodded. "She can't be far, Tank said the two trackers were rather close together."

As soon as we had turned the corner, Steph's latest junk car became visible. We broke into a run immediately. My fingers tightened around the gun that had never left my hand when I realized that the driver's seat was unoccupied. No Babe. Far and wide, there was no one in sight. Next to me, Bobby swore under his breath. Steph hadn't miraculously materialized in the front seat after we arrived in front of her windshield, but nevertheless, I threw a quick glance inside the car. It was more a reflex than real hope to find her in there that made me look, so when I caught sight of an unruly mob of brown hair in the back seat, my whole body went rigid. The motor wasn't running, and it was freezing cold outside. Steph didn't move; I couldn't even see whether she was breathing or not. "Babe," I choked out. My hand shot to the doorhandle, but the car was locked. She was so pale... "Babe!" I yelled and hammered against the window with both hands. She didn't even flinch. Fuck, why was the goddamn door locked up?

* * *

So yeah, it's not very nice to stop there. But since I'm actually supposed to write a seminar paper about social change in small-town America in the 1920s, I like to have a few pages of this story up my sleeve in case I won't be able to write much. So bear with me, please ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks again for the reviews; some of them really boosted my ego ;) This update is a bit shorter than those before, but I thought I should give you _something_, as I didn't upload anything yesterday. I probably won't be able to update tomorrow. Saturday should work, though. Enjoy :)

* * *

"Boss." Bobby's calm voice hardly managed to reach my brain. "She has the keys in her hand, guess she locked the car herself so she would be safe. She probably hoped you'd come and pick her up and decided to wait for your arrival. She doesn't seem to be hurt, but we have to get her out of the cold. She's hypothermic."

I hit the window one last time, then closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Calm down, soldier. Your woman isn't in immediate danger, but she needs your help now. I sighed. When I opened my eyes again, my breath caught. Steph was moving. First there was a violent shudder that went through her body, then she looked up. Her lips were blue, and she seemed to be stiff but it didn't look like she was seriously hurt. Her eyes lit up when she saw me. I was so relieved to see her awake and okay that I didn't care about keeping my usual expressionless face in place. I saw Steph's eyes widen when she took in my grin. Then her lips moved, but I couldn't hear what she was saying. An unnerved expression settled on her face before she questioningly looked at me and pointed at me. What the fuck? I doubted that her car was soundproof. "You locked up, Babe. Now that you're awake I figure you don't want me to smash in the window?" It was amazing. As soon as her shining blue eyes had met mine, the tension had left my body. I still wanted to get her somewhere warm as fast as possible, but I wasn't about to rip someone's head of anymore.

I watched as Steph tried to unlock the car – she had some trouble with it. When her stiff fingers had finally accomplished the task, I ripped the door open, pulled her out of the car and wrapped her in my arms in less than five seconds. I hissed when I felt her icy skin through the parts of my clothes that weren't covered by the vest. "Jesus, Babe! You feel like an ice cube! What happened? Why didn't you answer your phone?" And why hadn't she said a word, yet? She had never been the silent type. She sighed and tried to slip out of my arms, but I refused to let her go. "Don't think so, Babe." She tilted her head back to throw a Burg glare at me. When that didn't work, she sighed again and pointed to the car. I only raised an eyebrow at her. What, was she copying my silent attitude now? She tore her hair out, then pointed at her mouth, moved her lips and simultaneously shook her head. She then pushed against my chest, and this time, I let her go. She winced when she touched the ground, but before I could lift her in my arms again, she had already moved back to the car, giving Bobby her signature finger wave on the way. She rummaged around a bit and then came back to me with a piece of paper. I noticed that she was limping, but was distracted when she held her phone right under my nose, showing me it was dead. Then she showed me the sheet of paper. I slightly shook my head when I had finished reading it. She never disappointed. "So you have no voice and still went to bring in Miller with that scrap of paper?" I asked her incredulously. Behind us, Bobby chuckled. Steph just bit her lip and nodded reluctantly. "What about your car?"

She narrowed her eyes, flipped the bird at her car and gave it an angry kick. That seemed to have been a bad idea, for suddenly all the color left her cheeks and her eyes got as big as soup bowls. She hopped around on the other foot while holding the one that she had kicked against her car with, silently mouthing "fuck" again and again. I chuckled. "Babe." She glared at me before she gingerly placed her foot back on the ground, hobbled over to the fuel filler cap and tapped against it with her knuckles while pointing to the ground with her thumb. I couldn't help grinning. "Ran out of gas?" She blushed and nodded again.

I suddenly realized that she was shivering non-stop and avoided to put weight on her foot. I pulled her against my body and wrapped her in my jacket. So much for being aware of my surroundings! She huddled against me. When she pressed a kiss on my neck, I smiled. I didn't need to hear the words to know that she apologized for worrying me. "It's okay, Babe. You're safe now; that's all that counts." I planted a kiss on top of her head before making eye contact with Brown. "Bobby, run back to Santos, tell him to take Miller to the station and come back with the Porsche. We're taking Steph to the safe house at the Colonial Lake." Said woman pressed against my chest again though I could tell she was reluctant to leave the warmth that I offered. Hands on her hips, she gave me the "what the fuck?!"-glare. She didn't like having her choices taken away from her; especially when that meant she'd be whisked off to a safe house. "Relax, Babe. It's not too far, it has a huge tub and a heater that won't turn itself off in the middle of the night." I'd take her to Haywood, but I had no tub in my place. There was one in her apartment, but since her landlord was a cheap bastard, her place would have cooled down far too much to keep her warm. Plus, after Brown would have examined her, I was going to take care of her, which would be a lot easier in the privacy of the safe house than at her place, where everyone and their brother could get in.

Steph watched me through narrowed eyes. Even though she claimed not to have what she called ESP, I was positive that she knew exactly what I was thinking about. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, reminding me that we were still out in the cold. I sighed. "Babe. Please?"

~Stephanie~

Ungh! He _knew_ I couldn't say no to him when he used that word! Damn. I realized that Bobby was already on his way to get the car. He had assumed that I would follow Ranger's 'request' without question. Apparently he had assumed correctly. How I hated it that he was right! Maybe I should refuse to go with them, just for the hell of it. Would be fun to watch Bobby ponder on who he should listen to. One of us paid his bills. The other one would make his life hell the next time he had Bombshell duty. Tough one. I decided to let him of the hook when I remembered my chilly apartment. Andy my tub wasn't even big enough to cover my knees with water. Mhmm, and it definitely wasn't big enough for both Ranger and me in it... How could the image of my shabby, ugly bathroom possibly win against smooth mocca skin skin, a muscular body, skillful hands and that sexy smell that was all Ranger's? I quickly checked my chin for drool. Get a grip, I told my inner slut, you and Joe have called it quits three hours ago.

But it's _Ranger_! Batman! The Cuban Sex God! Okay, point for Slutty Steph. Damn hormones. I SO needed a doughnut!

"Babe." Ranger's voice and his light chuckle brought me back to reality. Oops. I had totally zoned out on him. My cheeks turned pink.

Batman stepped forward and brought his arms around me again. Mhmm, that was nice. "You know, Babe, I never thought there would come a day when I would actually outtalk you. But I bet I can still make you scream." I shuddered when he nibbled at my lobe. God, he was driving me crazy!

Be sensible, Steph; you've been single for about 5 minutes, said Smart Steph. Screw sensible! answered Slutty Steph. Or, better yet, screw Batman!

I seriously doubted that Smart Steph would have gotten another say in the matter if Bobby hadn't pulled up in that very moment. Ranger collected all my important stuff from my car – which wasn't much, considering most of it was either in my purse or I had it on me – before he gently guided me to the back seat with one hand on the small of my back. I bit back a yelp when I almost tripped over a stone. My toe was throbbing like hell. At least it didn't seem to be broken.

I was surprised when Ranger climbed in behind me and nodded to Bobby to take off. He never sat in the back. I looked at him questioningly. A slow grin stretched across his lips, and a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran down my back as he pulled me against him and said: "I thought I'd help you to... warm up." Oh boy!


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the delay! I really wanted to upload a new chapter yesterday, but I spent three hours making empanadas and one hour cleaning the kitchen, and then we had an eating orgy at a friend's house which lasted until two in the morning. I kind of neglected my term paper so that I could update today, which means that for the rest of the day, I will have to neglect my story for my term paper. Sigh. Does anybody want to write the character analysis of Carol Kennicott from Main Street for me? I'll pay you with quicker updates...

Have fun :)

PS: Funny how many people said they want Ranger to warm them up xD

* * *

The ride didn't do much to warm me up- except for my hands, which kind of vanished in Ranger's larger ones. It was strange to see him in the backseat with Bobby driving. Usually the Batmobile was driven by Batman, or, if not, he'd be riding shotgun. I sighed when we pulled up in front of the safe house. I SO didn't want to cross the few steps to the front porch. I was still stiff from the cold, I felt really tired and my toe hurt.

Turned out I didn't have to. Walk to the porch, I mean. As soon as we came to a halt, Ranger swooped me up in his arms and, ignoring my mute protest, carried me to the door, where he shifted me around a bit and then opened the door with a key that he suddenly held in his hand. In the two seconds he needed to push open the door, I hastily looked around. The house looked nice; nothing fancy, though. Nobody would look at it and say: "Oh, look at that snobby, security-packed house; it's probably a Rangeman safe house!".

"Here we are, Babe. I want to get you in the tub as soon as possible. Bobby, turn up the heat." Jeez, Batman, ever heard of Burg manners? I mouthed a 'Please' in Bobby's direction. He grinned and winked at me before he vanished from my field of vision. Ranger just threw me a look. We crossed a generous living room and went up the stairs- well, he went, I was still comfortable in his arms. Suddenly it occurred to me that he had carried me over the threshold. I would have giggled if I could, but as it was, I could only shake my head, grinning. Ranger looked down at me and raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny, Babe?" I just shrugged my shoulders. I couldn't say a thing anyway, so Ranger just stared at me for a moment before shaking his head and slightly lifting the corners of his mouth. He finally stepped into what seemed to be the master bedroom and put me down carefully. As he looked through the closets, I let myself fall back on the bed and yawned. Guess I had had enough action for one day. My eyelids started to droop. I heard Ranger chuckle before I felt his hands slide under my body as he lifted me up again and took me to the bathroom. I pried my eyes open to take in the room. Yep, definitely better than mine. I wriggled around to tell him to set me down. "You want to tell me anything?" he said grinning. Haha. Smartass. I gave him a first-class eye roll, then pointed to the floor. "Mhmm, I could really get used to this," he mumbled, pressed his lips on my forehead and let me slide out of his arms. Down his body. Phew! I was tired and cold, not dead! I was momentarily distracted by the feel of his muscles, but then I remembered his teasing. Way to talk to a woman, Batman! I stuck out my tongue at him. I watched as he got the water running in the tub and waited until he was satisfied with the temperature. He put the plug in place, added some bubble bath and turned around. I swallowed when I noticed his serious expression. I'd seen this coming, but I had kind of hoped that I could deny it until it went away. But Ranger wasn't Joe. That was why Joe felt comfortable and Ranger... didn't. I braved myself for the speech to come. He motioned for me to come closer. I crossed my arms and pressed my lips together. I hated to be lectured, especially when I couldn't talk back.

"Please, Babe?" Dammit! I strolled over to him but refused to give up my defiant stance. I lifted my chin a bit. _What?_

"Do you want me to call Morelli?" Huh? I looked up and blinked. That wasn't what I had expected. I opened my mouth but naturally nothing came out. I shrugged, then shook my head no. I didn't think that Joe wanted to check on me tonight, so there was no reason to call him and tell him I wasn't home. And not only not home, but with _Ranger_, of all people. Besides, it would probably take some time until we could be friends again.

Ranger raised an eyebrow, but he only nodded and then pulled me forward until our bodies were touching from head to toe. If I had been able to make a sound, I would have moaned. Loudly. Instead, I limited my reaction to a shudder. I waited for him to say something, but he just held me. It felt a bit weird at first, and just as I started to relax he pulled back and the seriousness was gone from his face. In fact, his expression was mostly neutral. Not really blank, but just as hard to read. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Ranger? Bomber? Can I come in? I should probably check that you're alright first, Steph." First? Before what? Bathing? Considering the tone of his voice he probably thought that he should interrupt us before we went at it like bunnies. Sigh. You wish.

"Come in," Ranger said calmly, and moved away some more. I frowned; I was confused. What had I done now? Everything had seemed fine just minutes ago.

Bobby came in, bag in hand. He put it on the toilet lid before he came over to me and felt my hands and face. He turned around and rummaged around in his bag. When he came back with a wooden spatula and a small flashlight, I grimaced. At least he had the decency to look sympathetic when he told me to open my mouth and almost made me gag. "I'm sorry, Steph. I thought that maybe you had a sore throat, but nothing is reddened. Any signs of a cough or a cold?" I shook my head no. Well, okay, my throat had been a bit dry due to the cold, but I knew why my voice was gone. I didn't have the patience to pantomime my way through my break-up with Joe, and I didn't feel like writing it all down, either.

"Okay, then. In this case, don't try to use your voice. I've already brewed some sage tea for you; it's in the kitchen. Do you still feel cold?" That one was easy. I nodded. "The bath should take care of that. If you don't mind, I'd like to do an auscultation of your lungs, just to be sure that you had no problems with your respiratory system before today." I nodded again- what else could I do?- and began to undress myself. It would be a lot easier for Bobby if he didn't have to fight his way through 500 layers of clothing with the stethoscope. I was about to pull my shirt over my head when I saw Ranger getting up, ready to leave the room. My hand shot forward and grabbed his. He looked at our hands and then in my eyes. I didn't know why, but somehow it didn't feel right without him there. He tilted his head to the side. "I thought I'd give you some privacy," he said softly. I bit my lip. It would be weird to undress in front of him, but I didn't want him to leave. _Come back?_ I mouthed. He looked at me for a moment before he nodded and left the room. I sighed. I pulled of my clothes until all was left was my underwear. And my socks. I wasn't quite ready to face my probably multi-colored toe, yet. I flinched when the cold metal touched my skin. I breathed deeply in and out until Bobby was satisfied with whatever he heard from my lungs. He ruffled my hair. "You know, if you were able to talk right now, I'd ask you what's going on with you and the boss. First there's pure fear for you in his eyes and he is ready to kill anybody who stands between you and him, then he's all relaxed and won't miss a single chance to make you blush, and then, after you've been alone for five minutes- nothing. Neutral but distant face. I know that this is between you and him, but you should know that I have _never _seen Ranger act like that around any other woman. I don't know what it is that keeps you going back and forth between two men, Steph, but I think it's time you made up your mind about one of them."

My breath had caught somewhere in the middle of his little speech. None of the Merry Men had ever commented on my (non)relationships with Joe or Ranger. I was glad that I sat with my back to Bobby; I couldn't have looked him in the eye. He had probably noticed the tension in my shoulders, for he rounded me and crouched down in front of me. "I didn't mean to judge you, Steph. All I'm saying is that you mustn't forget that Ranger isn't Batman. He's just a man. Even though I have to admit that every now and then, he scares me shitless." He grinned at me. I knew he wasn't mad at me, so I smiled back ruefully. "So, is there anything else that the nice doctor should take a look at?" he teased. I stuck out my tongue at him. Then I nodded in the direction of my right toe and made a face. "Let me guess. The one you kicked the door with?" I nodded sheepishly and watched as Bobby carefully pulled of the sock. I drew in a quick breath. Urgh.

"Woah, Steph!" Bobby barked out loudly. Before I could react in any way, the door flew open and Ranger rushed in. "What's going on? Babe?" He looked at my pale face and followed Bobby's and my gaze to my toe. My bruised and _definitely broken_ toe. While the big toe was red and swollen, the one next to it looked like it had been dragged through a paintbox, and it's angle wasn't what it was supposed to be. The nail was already turning a nice shade of a very dark blue, almost black. I gaped at the toe. My mouth opened and closed, but I didn't even know what I would have wanted to say. The day couldn't have been any worse. I was totally inept. A freaking loser. Today I had spent my last cash, the fuel fairy had flipped me the bird, I had lost my voice and my purse, had broken my toe and had probably managed to get pneumonia. Oh, and I had broken up with my boyfriend. Or ex-boyfriend, whatever. Damn, that was a bad day even for my standards. A single tear rolled down my cheek. I sniffled.

"Babe." Ranger knelled down next to me, tucking one of my crazy curls back behind my ear. The neutral expression was gone from his face; instead his eyes were warm and compassionate. Huh. His image would be thoroughly ruined if someone from the streets saw him like this. I hadn't noticed that Bobby had left, but he must have, as Ranger now placed a finger under my chin and lifted it so that he could very lightly brush his lips over mine. "You've had a long day, Babe. Bobby will get that toe of yours taped, we'll put a chair next to the tub so that you can place your foot there, and the warm water will do the rest." I slung my arms around his neck and nodded, my nose buried in the crook of his neck. He stiffened for a moment or two, but then his arms encircled me, his warm hands on my shoulder blades. And that's when I remembered I was only in underwear. My face instantly resembled a tomato. Ranger must have felt the heat radiating from my cheeks, as he chuckled. "Don't worry, Babe. Though I definitely enjoy the view, I've seen it all before. Remember?" For the lack of a better way of communication I bit him in the shoulder. Hard. Bastard!

He growled, grabbed my upper arms and pushed me away so that he could look at me. His eyes were like smoldering coals. Oops. The bite had been meant as payback for his statement, but it seemed like it had had a different effect. Holy cow, hot flash! I was pretty sure my eyes just turned into heavy bedroom eyes. And my tongue _might_ have run over my lips in appreciation of the fine specimen of a man in front of me.

Again, I was rescued by Bobby. "Ahem. I don't want to interrupt you, but I've brought another chair and the tea with me. I just need to tape your toe, Steph, and then you should take your bath before the water gets cold." I reluctantly stepped away from Ranger, my eyes never leaving his.

I concentrated on Ranger while Bobby taped my toe. I knew he did his best not to hurt me, but it hurt like a bitch when he gently straightened the bone. When he was done, he looked from me to Ranger. "Keep the toe out of the water. Take your bath, drink the tea and go to sleep. You're exhausted, you need to rest," he said, looking pointedly at Ranger towards the end of the sentence. He gave each of us a nod before he left the room. The silence that followed was uncomfortable; the passion from five minutes ago never returned. Something was bothering Ranger, but I didn't know what it was. Most people probably wouldn't even have noticed the slight changes in his face. The tension around his eyes, and the way his lips were a bit thinner than usual. He watched me watching him. He gently shook his head, came over to me and brushed my forehead with his lips. "Go take your bath, Babe. I'll be back in a few minutes." And he left.

* * *

Ranger's behavior will be explained in the next chapter ;) Whenever I'll have the time to write that... ~.~


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter is a bit shorter again, but since I didn't think I would be able to update at all today I guess that's okay ;) I had planned for this chapter to come out completely different, but somehow it developed its own life. Whatever, I guess it turned out okay. Whose point of view would you like to read in the next chapter? Ranger's or Steph's?

* * *

~Ranger~

When the door fell shut behind me, I let out a deep breath. She was driving me crazy. One moment I wanted to yell at her for deliberately placing herself in harm's way, the next I tried to distance myself from her because she wasn't mine. And in between all I wanted to do was to rip off her clothes and remind her that I was the only one who knew how to bring her real pleasure. That I should be the only one. She pushed me away. She came to me. And ran back to him. Why didn't she want me to call him? I was betting on guilt. Is was always guilt that kept her from doing and having what she wanted. I knew she wanted me. But it wasn't enough. It had been enough some years ago when we'd made the deal over DeChooch, but not now. I didn't know when it happened, that her desire for me wasn't enough anymore, but it _had_ happened. I wanted all of her. The problem was that I could never allow her to have all of me if she didn't tell me that she wanted it herself. She would have to put up with around-the-clock security, with me suddenly leaving, not knowing if I ever came back to her. She'd have to put up with my dark side. And it would inevitably change her. I was selfish enough to allow all of this to happen- if she wanted it. She was already holding my heart in her delicate hands, though she didn't know it, yet. What would happen if she knew? She couldn't hand it back to me without crushing it first. I couldn't take it back. All I could do was try to guard myself, be more distant and hope that someday, she would choose. But she made it so damn hard!

Suddenly I heard a squeak from the bathroom. I couldn't place it. There it was again. Squeak! I softly knocked on the door and opened it a bit. "Babe? Can I come in?" Squeak, squeak! I pushed the door open and had to grin despite my somber thoughts. Steph was holding a rubber duck (who had decorated the safe house with a rubber duck?!). Every time she pressed the toy it made the squeaking noise. She couldn't tell me to come in because she had no voice. I hadn't thought of that.

I chuckled. Even when I had just vowed to keep my walls up around her, she managed to tiptoe around them. Did it again and again until her presence behind the walls felt natural.

I stepped over the threshold. I couldn't help taking her in. Foam was covering every part of her that peeked out of the water, except for one slim leg that hung over the side of the tub, her foot with the taped toe resting on a chair. She'd twisted her hair into an untidy bun, but some strands had escaped and clung to her slender neck. There was a small smile on her lips. She tilted her head and stared at me questioningly. I almost snorted. She had picked up on my unusual mood. She knew me. I smiled back and gently shook my head. "Nothing, Babe. Just relax." The curiosity was still there in her eyes, but for whatever reason she decided to let it go. Instead, she hesitantly held out her hand, waiting for me to take it. I stepped forward without even thinking about it, took her hand and sat down next to the tub. I placed a kiss on her knuckles. "You scared the shit out of me today, Babe," I admitted. She tugged on her hand. Always retreating. I didn't let her, though, and interlaced our fingers. I tried to catch her eye, but she refused to meet my gaze. I sighed and reached for her chin with my other hand, gently pulling up her head until I could finally drown in her beautiful eyes. She was waiting for me to get angry, to tell her how reckless she was. I sighed again. Her eyebrows shot up at that. "I won't be angry with you, Steph. It wasn't your fault- as usual. It wasn't your smartest move to try to capture Miller when you didn't have any voice, but it wouldn't have changed so much today." Except that I wouldn't have had to worry because she could have told me what happened the first time I called her.

Steph indicated that she wanted to remove her hand from mine again, so I released her this time. I was surprised when her fingertips touched my forehead, smoothing out the lines there. Her teasing expression told me that normally she would have taunted me, maybe with something like "Getting older over there, Batman?", but now that she had no voice, she was forced to interact via touch, something she wouldn't normally do with me. I could count the few times that she had initiated physical contact on the fingers of one hand. "Babe," I said. She raised her eyebrows and arms and shrugged her shoulders. I chuckled. "It meant 'I'm just glad you are okay.'" She nodded. The small movements had caused the foam to drift in some places so that her smooth skin became visible. My eyes followed the path of a bubble which had started its journey next to her collarbone and was now headed to her right breast. My gaze must have been quite intense, as Steph suddenly shuddered. I looked up again and noticed the rosy glow on her cheeks. She nervously tucked one of her curls back behind her ear. I watched her take a deep breath before she scooted forward in the tub. She grabbed my hand and brought it to her cheek, placing a quick kiss inside my palm. She let go of my hand and used both of hers to tuck at my shirt.

My heart was beating hard against my ribs as I struggled to control my emotions. "Babe, what are you doing?" I rasped. She gnawed on her lip and then looked from me to the water and back, all the while trying to free my shirt from my pants. She wanted me to get in the tub with her. I tensed when she succeeded and let her fingers ghost over my abdomen. That woman would be the death of me. But resistance was futile. My fingers were acting on their own when they joined Steph's under my shirt. I pulled it off, my shoes, socks and pants following quickly. I could see that Steph was nervous, but I didn't plan to let anything happen between us today. I just wanted to hold her. I quickly climbed in behind her, quietly thanking whoever had designed a tub where two people would fit in easily. I grabbed a sponge and some shower gel and began to wash her back. I could see how the tension left her shoulders bit by bit until she finally relaxed back into my body. My arms encircled her waist, my hands resting on her belly, my cheek pressed against hers.

She felt right in my arms, like she belonged there. And yet she wasn't mine. She was with Morelli. After two weeks, they had apparently reconciled yesterday. I'd seen Morelli's car sitting in her parking lot when I drove by. Now Steph was here in my arms, naked. She had taken the initiative while I had simply reacted. I didn't want to think that way, but every now and then the thought would pop into my head: if she allowed me to poach, who said she wouldn't allow another man as well when she was with me? I remembered the time Grandma Bella had put the vordo on her. Steph had practically pounced on me in the Turbo. And shortly after that in my apartment. She'd been with Morelli then, even if it was supposed to be an open relationship. As far as I knew, open relationships allowed sex with other partners, no emotions involved. And even though what we had done in the Turbo could only be described as a quickie, there was no way even one of us could have claimed to be emotionally unattached at that moment. I felt my body respond to the memory of that day. So did Steph. She turned her head to look at me, a sexy smile on her lips. She couldn't turn completely because of her leg that rested on the chair, but she managed to press her lips to the skin right under my jaw. I closed my eyes to enjoy the feeling but immediately opened them again when I felt Steph's hand sneaking in the direction of my lap. I caught her hand before I could lose control. "Babe," I uttered, "not tonight. You're supposed to rest." The insecurity returned to her eyes immediately. I leaned down and pressed a line of kisses to the junction of her neck. "Babe," I murmured, "I think it's fairly clear how much I want you right now. But even though I know I'm good, I think my ego might not be able to cope with you falling asleep on me." She gave me an eye roll. I smiled though it didn't quite reach my eyes. It was so much easier to joke around and taunt her than to tell her how I really felt. Steph wasn't the only frequent visitor of denial land.

I had told her that I loved her countless times. She wouldn't believe me, though. Not really. And she hadn't said it back.

I flinched when Steph lightly poked the side of my head. She'd caught me zoning out on her. She drew a question mark in the air. I brushed my lips against hers. "You know, I'm really gonna miss this. It has never been this quiet around you." You're avoiding the question, Manoso...

"Let's get you out of the water and into bed, Babe. I'll even lie down with you if you promise not to fondle me in your sleep." She punched my arm for that. I put my arms under hers and helped her up and out. I reached for a towel and wrapped her in it, pulling her back against my chest again. My lips tickled her neck when I said: "I'll get you some clothes while you towel yourself dry. Drink your tea; I'll have Bobby make some more." I grinned when she threw me a stern look and mouthed 'please'. "Babe. I pay them. It's their job to do as I say." She wriggled out of my arms, hobbled over to the steamy mirror and wrote with her finger: 'Bobby = friend!' She turned around, hands on her hips, and glared at me. She was unbelievable. My own men, Tank and Bobby excluded, wouldn't dare to stand up to me, but a white girl from the Burg confronted me head-on because I didn't say please.

"You know, I could just throw you over my shoulder, stuff you in my car and dump you at your cold apartment," I pointed out to her, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

She raised her eyebrows at me. _Oh yeah?_ She grinned wickedly before reaching for her towel. She pulled it apart so that I got the full view. She batted her eyelashes at me before mouthing something I couldn't decipher because I wasn't looking at her mouth. "Babe," I groaned and left the room before I could break my promise to myself and show her what happened when she baited me.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay, first of all: I'm sorry for the long wait. I had a lot to do with writing my paper and packing my thinks, as I 'moved' to France last week. I'm staying for half a year, but it sure feels like I moved here permanently with all the stuff ;) Although I only arrived 7 days ago, I'm already having some problems to write in German or English because one French word after another pops into my head – usually when I'm desperately searching for the English one. So please bare with me if there are more mistakes than usual, I'll do my best to keep the French out of my story. I won't update every second day and probably not even every third, but I'll try to post at least one chapter a week. When I take too long, just pm me and remind me that you are waiting, it will probably motivate me to write a page or so every evening :)

* * *

I felt a whiff of air on the right side of my face. I ducked immediately but couldn't entirely dodge the slap to the back of my head. It actually hurt.

"She's supposed to _rest_, man!" Brown barked. I glared at him. "Don't look at me like that. When the medic says REST, he means it! You coming out there naked tells me you didn't give a shit about my instructions. Stop thinking with your dick already."

I knew he was right, but I didn't like the tone. While Bobby was one of my closest friends, he was also my employee. "You'll meet me on the mats for that one when we're back at Rangeman," I said calmly as I went over to the closet to look for something to wear. I grabbed a pair of black sweats. Every safe house we used was stocked with Rangeman clothing. I turned around, put on the pants and then walked up to Bobby who still wore an angry expression while my own face was blank. "We need more tea. The _medic _told me Steph should drink it." Bobby's face hardened, but he gave me a sharp nod and walked to the door. He was pissed.

"Brown," I called out. He stopped, but he wouldn't turn around. I knew he was listening, though. "She'll get her rest. I'll see to that." The tension in his shoulders lessened a bit and he nodded again before he went down the stairs. He knew that I would take care of her.

I tensed when the door opened behind me. The little encounter with Bobby just reminded me what my problem was. No matter what I did to keep my emotions in check around Steph, she would always manage to make me do the opposite of what was best for her. Because _she_ never did what was best for her. Ever.

I hadn't brought her any clothes yet, so she had just slipped on one of the bathrobes that were hanging on the wall next to the tub. She had an empty cup in her hand that would probably fall to the fall any second because instead of concentrating on her hand, Steph was staring at my chest. And licked her lips. I groaned. I was doing that a lot lately. "Babe. Stop looking at me like I'm cake. I'm trying my hardest to be good here. Keep baiting me and I can't guarantee for anything."

Thankfully, Bobby chose that moment to come in with a pot of tea. "And as I'm the one whose ass will be kicked by the boss if you aren't healthy and happy as a lark tomorrow morning, I beg you to have mercy on me and be good. I know it isn't time for bed yet, but I really think you should lie down, Steph, maybe watch a movie or something. Lester should be here any minute. He has your check from Connie, your purse and something to eat. I also asked him to rent Ghostbusters."

"Rex. Tell him to bring Rex," I mumbled absentmindedly while I pressed a few buttons on the remote control lying on a bedside table.

~Stephanie~

God, that man was perfect! Not only had he just provided my so far best tub experience by simply sitting behind me, but he also thought of my hamster! When I didn't... I didn't want any children, and as far as I knew, Ranger was pretty content with Julie, but maybe he would like to be a hamster daddy? I could buy a black mini t-shirt for Rex. Bad-ass hamster for Batman. Hmm...

My musings were interrupted by Ranger who handed me some clothes. "I'll be downstairs for a few minutes, Babe. Promise me you'll lie down after you've changed?" I really wanted to say no because I felt I had already been babied enough for one day, but the thought of Ranger and me in bed for the rest of the day kind of changed my mind. I was almost one hundred percent sure that feeling cold wouldn't be an issue...

"Babe." Ranger sounded amused. I assumed my thoughts had been quite visible on my face. It was good that Ranger already knew he was hot. Otherwise his ego would have gone through the roof since he had met me.

When I grabbed the clothes, Ranger pressed a quick kiss to my forehead and then quickly left the room, followed by Bobby who just shook his head, a small smile on his lips. What? It wasn't my fault that apparently they could all read my mind. If they payed a bit less attention, they'd be safe from my thoughts! I dressed quickly because I didn't think that Ranger would join me again soon if I wasn't dressed. Damn his self-control. Why was he even holding back? I knew I hadn't told him about the breakup, yet, but that had never stopped him before, right? All these kisses in the alley that had turned my brain to mush and had heated other unmentionable parts of my body. Today all I got were a few nice brotherly kisses. Well, and a smoking hot bath, but nothing happened, really. I had no idea where we stood. And no idea how to find out.

Just when I had cuddled up on the bed in clothes which were far too big for me and was debating whether to watch the current channel or another, Ranger entered the room again. He smiled when he saw me. "Cute."

I stuck out my tongue at him, but when his eyes stayed fixed on my mouth afterwards, I thought that maybe it hadn't been a good idea. I wasn't sure if having sex with Ranger right now would result in anything other than heartbreak for me- well, aside from maybe two or three earth-shattering orgasms.

"Earth to Babe." I jumped when I suddenly heard Ranger's voice right next to my ear, not having heard him sliding in behind me. I glared at him, silently conveying a "Make some noise!" to him.

"Babe. I was right in front of you." He sounded amused. Nice to know that he was having fun. It royally sucked when you couldn't talk back. "I've brought you some paper and a pen." He placed a notepad and a ball pen in front of me and then moved around a bit, making himself comfortable. My body automatically drifted closer to his until my back was touching his front. His arms immediately went around me. At least he still welcomed me in his arms. I sighed contently. No gorilla sex, then. Cuddling was nice, too.

"You feeling better?" Ranger asked behind me. My eyes, which had begun to close, snapped open again. Since when did Batman talk that much on his own? Well, it wasn't really as if I could have contributed to a conversation. I turned around to face him, studying his face. It wasn't blank anymore. He looked relaxed. I gave him the thumbs up._ Tout est bien_. **(**_**Okay. Weird. I left that in here because I think it's funny that there are already French sentences popping up in my head when I'm writing in English after ONE week. If you notice some weird sentences PLEASE tell me. I'm in France to learn French, not to forget English ;) )**__ I'm good. _His hands softly caressed my sides, almost hesitantly. Wait, hesitantly? Ranger didn't to hesitant. As I couldn't ask him what was wrong and putting my hands on my hips was kind of awkward when lying on a bed I decided to pull the tiger's tail. I snuggled closer to him, breathing in the scent of Bvlgari. I pressed my face to the crook of his neck and started to nibble at the skin of his throat. Yum.

The next moment I found myself on my back with Ranger pressing me into the mattress. His eyes were black. His body was hard. _Everywhere_. I swallowed.

"Afraid, Babe?" Ranger rasped, his lips almost touching mine. I could only blink. My brain short-circuited. "You should be."

And then his hands were everywhere. When his thumb brushed over my nipple, I moaned. Loudly. Ranger froze, then he stared at me disbelievingly. I threw him a look that said _Yeah, you're that good. _I was about to reach for him again when he suddenly rolled away from me, breathing hard. My mouth fell open. W-w-what? He stopped?!

He covered his eyes with one arm. "You're gonna be the death of me," he panted. "I already had my ass handed to me by Bobby because he thinks we had sex in the bathroom. I once said that I didn't need cuffs to enslave a woman. But if you don't stop attacking me, I might have to rethink using them on you. And not in a good way." I pulled at my hair. He didn't. He didn't interrupt our making-out because of _Bobby_? I grabbed the pen and paper, feeling an odd mixture of frustration and amusement. I scribbled: _I'd never have thought that another man would come between us! _Right after I had finished the sentence I realized what I had written. At the same time, Ranger tensed up behind me, apparently realizing the same thing. I was pretty sure that my horrified expression told Ranger exactly what I was thinking. Meanwhile, his blank mask was back in place. I hastily started to write that I didn't mean it like that, that I hadn't thought of Morelli at all, but Ranger had already gotten out of bed. His shoulders were tense, and he was opening and closing his hands at his sides as if he was thinking about hitting something. How had I managed to put my foot in my mouth without even using the latter? I really wanted my voice back now. I wouldn't have known what to say anyway, but I needed to say _something. _Anything. He wasn't looking at me, so I got up and tentatively walked over to him. When I had almost reached him, he suddenly spoke up. I shuddered because there was no emotion in his voice. "Why didn't you want me to call Morelli?"

I looked at his back, dumbfounded. I could have simply grabbed the notepad and explained to him that Morelli and I were over. But something about the tone he was using ticked me off and I refused to explain myself to him. I certainly didn't have to! It had been Mr. I-don't-do-relationships himself who told me to go back to Morelli and who had then continued our trips to the alley, never asking about my relationship with Joe!

I stomped in front of him, the anger apparent on my face. I pointed at him, then at me, made some kissy faces and violently threw my arms up in the air. _Why does Morelli suddenly matter to you? Never stopped you before! _I didn't now how, but he seemed to get the message. There was fury in his eyes, and hurt, but the hurt was gone in the blink of an eye. Never before had his anger been directed at me. It was scary. And totally uncalled for. Which made me lift my chin defiantly and go toe to toe with him. When he didn't react, I shoved him with both hands, but I could have pushed against a wall instead, as he wouldn't budge an inch. I pushed again. This time, he took hold of my wrists, his grip vise-like. I tried to pull them free, and again he wouldn't move, tightening his grip instead. I was too outraged to complain about the pain, but I couldn't help flinching a bit.

Suddenly my hands were free, and Ranger had moved to the other corner of the room. I slowly massaged my wrists while I watched him with wary eyes. I didn't understand how the situation had changed so fast. We had never had an argument like that. Never before had I seen him like that. I couldn't read his expression, not because it was blank but because there were too many different emotions there. Regret was one I recognized. He hadn't wanted to hurt me. There was also a vulnerability that I had never witnessed with him. What did he feel vulnerable for? The mighty Manoso, with his big scary men who had his back, his fleet of black shiny cars and more money than he could possibly spend? The Cuban Sex God who could have every woman he wanted in his bed.

I felt my eyes begin to tear up. What was I to him? If I was just one of many, why did he care about Morelli? And if he did care for me in more than one way, why did he refuse to let me in? He never asked about what I thought about our one night together. And the following morning. At that time, his abrupt departure had been more confusing than hurtful, but the more time passed, the more it made me angry and sad. If this thing between us wasn't a good idea, why didn't he stay away?

I slowly walked over to the bed, took the pen and wrote _Take me home, please. _I ripped the sheet of and put it in my pocket before I began to write again. This time, I neatly folded the sheet in the middle and hold it out to Ranger. He still hadn't said a word, but he looked a bit more relaxed now. "Babe..." he began, but I just shook my head and motioned for him to take the note. When his fingers closed around it, I quietly left the room and went down the stairs.

Bobby was in the kitchen. He turned around and frowned when he saw me, looking worried. "What are you doing down here, Steph? I told you that you needed to rest so that tomorrow..." he started, but stopped when he noticed that something wasn't right. "Steph? What's wrong, what happened?" I just shook my head and handed him the second note. His eyebrows shot up. "You want to go home? Now? Look, I don't know what happened between you and Ranger, but I really think that you should sta... fuck, don't cry!" he interrupted himself when the first tear started to run down my cheek. _Please_, I mouthed, my desperation to get away clearly showing on my face. It was weird. My missing voice had forced me to be honest with Ranger. Although I wasn't able to speak, I had expressed more than ever before. But now I needed to go home. Quickly. Before Ranger could come up with an answer to my note.

Bobby looked at me for a long moment. Whatever it was that he saw in my eyes convinced him that I really needed to get away quickly. He nodded. "Okay, fine. I'll drive you home. But you have to take the tee with you and promise me to rest. I'll stop by tomorrow morning to make sure you're fine. Alright?" I nodded and went straight to the front door and opened it. Before I could set foot on the porch, I was stopped by Bobby. "What do you think you're doing? You're not wearing shoes, Steph. Come on, I'll carry you to the car." Just as he placed his arm around my shoulders to lift me, I felt the hair at the base of my neck stand up. Ranger was standing at the top of the stairs, watching me. I hold his gaze for a moment, feeling my heart break when I realized that there wasn't a trace of the emotions which I had hoped to find in his face. I turned away, letting Bobby carry me.

45 minutes later I curled up in my bed, alone. Bobby had finally left me alone after he had assured himself that I was physically fine. He couldn't help me with the ache in my chest. I hoped that it would heal over time, after I would have accepted that Ranger probably didn't love me the way I loved him.

* * *

Soooo... I haven't actually decided what Steph told Ranger in the note. I have some ideas, but if anybody wants to tell me theirs, I would be glad ;) I won't immediately start to write the text chapter, but will wait a bit for your possible ideas or wishes. Leave a review if you want to make me happy ;D

À bientôt!


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, first of all: I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, but some things have happened in real life that didn't really allow me to clear my head for writing much. At the end of my second week in France, the ex-husband of my host mother was stung my a wasp while we were on a boat trip. He had an anaphylactic shock, and though we did everything we could to keep him alive, he went into a coma and died one week later. As you can imagine, life for my host family has been pretty hard, and as I am right in the middle of family life, I didn't really feel like writing when I was at home. Things are starting to get better, though, and I will probably feel like writing more often. I still cannot promise frequent updates because in spite of all that happened, I'm still enjoying my stay in France and I don't really spend a lot of time at home.

This chapter is a bit short, but I thought you would rather read a short chapter than none at all ;)

Thanks for all the reviews and your suggestions for the note. Please keep sending me your suggestions; some of them really help me to develop the storyline!

Oh, and sorry for any weird sentences or structures (or words). Even though I finally have some English classes, the French language just won't stop to undermine every English thought!

* * *

~Ranger~

I felt as if she had taken my heart with her when she left the house with Brown. I was standing on the landing, staring at the sport where I had seen her go through the door only five minutes ago. The note she had given me was in my right hand, crumpled up as I was clenching my hand so tightly that it hurt. I forced my hand open and watched as the paper fell to the floor.

I almost snorted when I realized that I had to actually will my body away from Steph's note. As if it were possible that the words on the paper had changed since I had last read them.

My feet felt unusually heavy as I walked down the stairs, over to the fridge and opened its door with more force than necessary. An egg fell out, hit the floor and exploded all over the tiles. I looked down at the mess. Suddenly I slammed the door shut again, deciding to forgo the beer I had planned to drink. It wouldn't do me much good, anyway, as one beer wouldn't numb me in the slightest. I felt the dire need for something a lot stronger, but my own stupid rule that no hard alcohol was to be stored in the Rangeman safe houses prevented me from shutting the world out.

I stepped over the egg. I would call for somebody to clean it up or would order the next person who who stepped over the threshold to do it. I felt like beating the shit out of something, hell someone, but there wasn't even a gym I could use. And Brown had already texted me that he told Lester there was no need for him to come here. I walked over to the couch and set down, running my hands over my face. How did it come to this? One moment Steph and I happily were happily absorbing each other's company and the next she let one of my man carry her out the door and all I had left of her was a goddamn note. When I had first read the words, I didn't know whether I should laugh or cry.

_I wish I were able to understand you. During all this times in the alley, you never asked about Joe, because it was you who decided to stick your tongue down my throat. But when I am the one who comes to you, I'm suddenly the woman who leads you around and goes to sleep in the arms of another man. Have you ever asked yourself why I always go back to him? But not anymore. I think I learned from you. I made a decision tonight: I don't do relationships either. _

It was so like her to use my own words against me. She never listened to the important things I said but memorized each and every thing so that she could hold it against me whenever it suited her. I had always shaken my head in disbelief when a guy complained about a complicated woman but put up with it anyway. I had asked myself why they would go to so much trouble instead of moving on. Now I knew the answer. They were in love, just like me. And that was the reason why I hated myself for hurting her tonight even though she had hurt me again and again.

I had almost lost control earlier tonight. Never before had I been this close to physically hurt a woman who I didn't consider a threat to my safety. On second thought, Stephanie was the biggest threat to my safety I had ever come across. I would literally lose my mind if I were to lose her entirely.

Yes, I knew how she felt when I sent her back to him. Yes, I knew that this was what she was actually asking in her note. And the knowledge of how this one night had affected her heart was what kept me from breaking my rules for her. One night had already left her damaged. If I had stayed that morning, if I had even spent one more hour with her then, I wouldn't have been able to leave ever again. And I would have had destroyed her completely within days. She hadn't known as much about me back then as she did now. She had wormed her way into my heart and showed me that she was capable of dealing with my life. Yet I wasn't. What kept me away from her was the inability to find a balance between my work and my private life. You couldn't just stop being the boss of a company which might need your attention at any given moment. You couldn't just erase all the people I killed or those who wanted to kill me. And you certainly couldn't just get rid of the feeling that the woman you love appreciates you for what you do for her but refuses to see you as an ordinary man instead of a superhero, a car supplier, an adventure or a chauvinistic pain in the ass.

I had allowed, even encouraged, her to see me this way for far too long. It was my own fault that it had come to this. There would be no one to blame for my misery but me if she really meant what she had written in that note. She was one of the most stubborn people I knew, so it was quite realistic that she would stick to her decision. And would make me insane.

~Stephanie~

When I woke up, I could hardly open my eyes as they were all red and puffy from crying myself to sleep last night. I meant what I had written in that note. Apparently I wasn't able to maintain a relationship or to even start one successfully, so I would simply stop trying. I would become the one-night stand kind of girl, having my fun and moving on before heartbreak had a chance to come knocking at my door. Maybe that decision would help me take my mind of Ranger.

Funny how I managed to break up with two men in one day who I hadn't really been together with. At least Joe now had to believe me that our breaking up didn't have anything to do with Ranger. I hadn't left him because I wanted to get together with Ranger. I just didn't want to be together with _him_ any longer.

While I was very aware of what had happened yesterday, I still didn't understand how the situation had escalated so fast. He had almost lost control with me. He had walked into my apartment with the knowledge that a psychopath was waiting there to kill him and he hadn't lost it for a second. Two minutes with me in the same room and he was ready to strangle me. Figuratively speaking.

I pried my eyes open once again when my cellphone announced a new text message. It was from Bobby, telling me he would be over in ten minutes to check up on me. I groaned. I didn't want to explain everything to him, especially as there wasn't really anything to explain. Things simply didn't work out between Ranger and me. It wasn't like pouring my heart out to Bobby would resolve my non-relationship problems.

Nevertheless I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I cringed when I saw my reflection in the mirror. I figured that Bobby would probably let himself in anyway, so I could take a shower and try to make myself presentable. It didn't really work all that great, but at least I didn't look like a zombie anymore. When I opened the door to my living room, a towel still wrapped around my head, Bobby was sitting on the sofa. One look at my face told him I was anything but okay. He got up and quickly wrapped me in his arms. If I had had any tears left in me, I would have cried again. Instead I buried my face in his neck and let his warm sent comfort me. When I felt like I had my emotions under control again, I retreated a bit so that I could look him in the eyes. "You know, I have decided that from now on I'm going to be a one-night stand kind of girl. Know anyone who'd be interested?"


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry it took me so long to update. I didn't want to give you 500 words chapters, so I waited until I had written a bit more. I realized that some people didn't like Steph coming on to Bobby like that, so I tried my best to write a few sentences every evening so that you wouldn't have to wonder too long how the story will continue.

**Lizzie Verdon**: I don't know if you still read my story not, but just in case: He DID send her back. I think they both made (and will make, I don't think that Janet will have Steph make a decision soon) a lot of mistakes. And while I agree with you on the selfish, stupid, immature and (sometimes) annoying part, I really can't call her uncaring. She is far from perfect, but she is loyal and sticks up for her friends and is there for them when they need her help.

This story will definitely have a Babe HEA, so obviously both Steph and Ranger will have to change a bit to make it work. But I won't change the basic features of Steph's personality. Otherwise I would write my own story about a chaotic bounty hunter, not borrow J.E.'s characters ;)

Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you feel like I it, you'd be surprised how much they actually influence the plot! :)

**PS**: I don't want to get on your nerves, but I really NEED to be corrected if I'm doing anything wrong. Please tell me when something sounds strange or "not really English". It's really hard to keep your language skills in one foreign language at the same level when you are staying in a country where your third language is spoken.

* * *

Bobby's eyes were nearly popping out of his head. He quickly regained his composure, though, grabbed both my wrists and led me over to the sofa. He then sat down beside me and very seriously looked me in the eye. "Bomber, while I never thought that I would ever reject a beautiful woman like you, I don't think that we having sex would be a good idea right now. I'm glad you have your voice back, though."

Oh my God! A bright read instantly covered my cheeks. I sprang to my feet, ignoring my toe that was beginning to throb painfully. "Not YOU Bobby! Oh my God, NO! I'd never sleep with YOU! I didn't mean... It was more like..." What was the point in being able to talk again when all that left my mouth was nonsense?!

He actually seemed to be sulking now. "Jeez, Steph, I'm glad you didn't mean it that way, but you didn't have to be so blunt. What were you talking about, anyway?"

I wanted to pull my hair out, but when I tried, I only got a hold of the towel. I sighed. "You're my FRIEND, Bobby. I would never sleep with a friend." That got me a raised eyebrow. Damn, why could they all do that? "Okay, I _almost_ never slept with a friend of mine. Happy? Besides, it isn't exactly easy to define what is between Ranger and me. Was," I corrected myself.

Bobby just shock his head before he pointed to the place next to him. "Okay, Steph, come here. Sit down and talk to me. I didn't really get what happened between you and Ranger yesterday."

Great. Not only was he probably thinking of me as a slut now, but he also wanted to talk. Go away, voice!

I sighed and let myself fall on the sofa next to him. "It started with me making a stupid statement and ended with me turning Ranger down. Permanently. Holy cow, Bobby, I turned RANGER down! He will ship me off to some country that nobody has ever heard of!"

"Steph. Steph! Calm down, will you? What did you tell him? Look, I now neither of us is the touchy-feely type, and we haven't really talked so much in the past, but I would really appreciate it if you talked to me now before you made any life-changing decisions."

I hated when people forced me to stop and think. Everyone always told me I needed to make a decision, and when I had finally made one, they wanted me to think about it again. I had never been someone who would look at a situation from every possible angle before acting. I always went with my gut, and here I was, perfectly alive and well. Well, mostly.

I took a deep breath before rattling everything down in 10 seconds: "Rangerdidn'twanttosleepwithmebecauseyou hadtoldhimnottoandIsaidIwoul dn'thavethoughtthat-therewouldevercomeanotherman betweenusandthenwehadanargum entaboutJoeandhegrabbedmeand -Ibasicallytoldhimtofuckoff."

Bobby didn't even blink. "Why did you ask me if I knew anybody who would be interested in a one-night stand?"

That one was easy. "Look at my life, Bobby. I'm obviously incapable of having a relationship. So I decided that it would be a lot easier to forget the idea that every Jack has his Jill and establish a no relationship rule. No love, no heartbreak." Hah, try to weaken that argument, Brown!

"So, Steph, you're 32 years old, right?"

"Euh, yeah...?" I watched him suspiciously.

"In these 32 years, you have been with three men, am I right?"

I nodded. What was he getting at?

"The first one cheated on you shortly after your marriage. It was his fault that your relationship didn't work out. You follow?" I nodded again. When I knew one thing for sure, it was that it was entirely the Dick's fault that Joyce's naked ass had ever met _my _dining room table.

"The second man in your life was Morelli. Even though you both tried your hardest, you just weren't right for each other. Don't try to deny that, it was obvious every time you two were going at each other's throat in public." I pressed my lips together. I had been ready to argue with him, but he wouldn't let me. Meanie!

"So, that brings us to Ranger. The one being on the whole planet that is equally as stubborn as you. The man who, and I know it because I have heard him say it, loves you more than he has ever loved another person before. And when I think about your reaction after the Scrogg accident, I am absolutely sure that you love him, too. So, if I got it all right, we have one failed relationship where you didn't do anything wrong, another one that was just not meant to be, and a third one that no one in their right mind would give up on. Even though I have to admit that with two sets of exceptional stubbornness, it probably won't always be love, peace and harmony. Wow, Steph, three relationships in 32 years. That really proves that you're a failure."

"I think you just used up your words for an entire year," I mumbled. I couldn't really look him in the eye. The way he phrased it made the whole situation look a lot less hopeless. On the other hand I had only had three relationships in 32 years. Okay, let's say in the last 17 years, because I would have to be _really _desperate to count the first 15 years of my life as possible dating time. So, what was wrong with me that only three men had ever honestly shown interest in me? I didn't include my numerous stalkers. That would be too creepy.

"After all I've just said that is the only thing you can come up with? Really, Steph?" He seemed to be a tiny little bit exasperated. Welcome to my life. "You know what? You need to get your priorities straight. Let me have a look at your toe, and after that I'm going to leave you alone before I say something that Ranger will want to kill me for." He pointed at my foot.

I grudgingly tugged at my sock. Bobby had been honest and open with me until know, so why did he suddenly want to leave? "There," I said and positioned my artwork of a toe right under his nose. "Now, are you going to tell me what you don't want to tell me, or what?"

Bobby carefully reached for my foot and then had me move it. Up, down, left, right. Up again. Ouch. "Does that hurt?" he asked, still ignoring my lingering question. "Not that much," I lied. I didn't want a cast. Casts always made you look clumsy. Which I wasn't. Just unlucky.

"Okay. It's broken, but only in one place. I'll put the bone back into place and will immobilize it with a splint. No running for a few weeks, and definitely no heels. I'd tell you to take it easy for a few days and just rest, but I know you won't listen. So I just ask you not to overdo it, okay?" While he was talking, he gently straightened the broken bone. It hurt like hell for a moment, but I didn't complain. The faster he was done, the faster I could get out of my apartment. Not that Ranger couldn't find me anywhere if he wanted to, but I'd rather not be a sitting duck.

"I'll try to be careful. It's not like I could go anywhere, anyway. My car is who knows where and I'm not sure if it hasn't passed on to car-heaven already."

Bobby shifted around uncomfortably. "About that..."

I narrowed my eyes to slits. Funny how the Burg-glare would never impress Ranger while his men seemed to be at least a tiny little bit intimidated by it. "Oh no, he didn't!" I got up and hobbled to the window. Two shiny black SUVs were parked right next to the door. I turned around to glare at Bobby. "He can't be serious! We just had a huge fight and I left him standing there in that safe house after he behaved like the biggest ass on earth! And now he's giving me another goddamn car?! What's wrong with him?!"

Bobby opened his mouth and looked as if he wanted to say something that wasn't so nice, but then decided against it at the last moment. Instead he just shook his head. "That's something you have to clear up with him. I'm not going to solve your imaginary problems for you two. Come here, Steph. I need to fix the splint (I have no idea what you do with a splint. Do you fix it? Put/strap it on? Fasten it? HELP!), and then I I have to go."

"Why? Do you already have enough of me?" I asked. And wanted to hit myself for it the next second. Why was I being so resentful?Bobby didn't do anything wrong!

"Bobby, I..." I began, but he interrupted me. "Because Ranger started to call everyone who looked at him the wrong way to the mats before I left. I'm afraid I'll have to patch up a few of them. So would you please sit down and let me help you?"

Suddenly I felt like a total bitch. All these men had helped me time and time again, and all I even did was stun them, lie to them, sneak out on them, cause them trouble. I meekly went over to him and let him do whatever it was that he did. He didn't say anything, so I didn't, either. A few minutes later he set my foot on the ground. "There. All done. I'll leave you some pain meds and something for your throat. Just to make sure that you will be able to _talk_." He gave me a pointed look.

I chose to ignore that last part. No way was I talking to Ranger after last night! I was already mentally packing my bags for my trip to Denial Land. "Thank you, Bobby. Tell the other guys I'm sorry, please?" I really hated that they took a beating because of me. Ranger was in a shitty mood because of me. The only thing that was giving me comfort now was that apparently Ranger didn't take this whole thing too lightly, either.

Bobby sighed. "They'd probably all like to see you in person after the scare you gave us all yesterday, Steph. I know you don't realize it, but we don't just like you because of Ranger." He smiled at me again and then left my apartment. I went to my bedroom and flopped down on the bed in my thinking position. Even I didn't know why I called it _thinking position, _as I fell asleep after three minutes of sending my feelings for Ranger ahead to Denial Land.


	9. Chapter 9

I know, I know. I'M SORRY. I really didn't have the time to write, but now that I have no more exams and my stay in France is almost over I think I'll be able to update more often. This is a very short chapter, in fact it is so short that I wouldn't really call it a chapter, but it's better than nothing.

Dear readers and reviewers who have not given up on me: Thank you.

Those who have: Please come back!

PS: I realize that I often switch from AE to BE and back. Could you please tell me if it becomes too obvious? Thanks in advance!

* * *

When I woke up again the sun was about to set. Jeez, I had just wasted a whole day! Well, practically it was only 5 pm., but there wasn't really anything I could do. I couldn't chase skips with a broken toe, I refused to use the Rangeman vehicle in the lot and I certainly wouldn't stop by at Haywood. Hell no, Ranger would be there!

Or maybe not, because at that very moment, I heard my lock tumble. I rushed to the door, just in time to slam it shut again after it had been open wide enough to allow me a short glimpse of Ranger on the other side.

"No one's home!" I yelled and leaned against the door. Not that I could keep him from entering if he really wanted to, but a girl could try, right?

"Babe", he said, this time meaning _Really?!_

"What are you even doing here? Go away!" I knew why he was here. He wanted to _talk_. What was there to talk about? He didn't do relationships, but when his.. his sometimes fuckbuddy tried to make an actual relationship work, he didn't like that, either.

"We need to talk." See? I knew it!

"I don't want to talk!"

Silence. Then: "I've brought doughnuts."

Oh, that was low! But believe it or not, not even doughnuts could make me talk to him right now. "Nice try, Ranger. They are probably full of fruit and vitamins. Now leave." It actually, really hurt to hear his voice.

"You know that I can come in if I want to", he said slowly. My eyes narrowed and I slowly breathed in and out. Once. Twice. It wouldn't calm me down. So I did something stupid. Probably the most stupid thing I had ever done and would ever do. I grabbed my stun gun from the kitchen counter, switched in on, ripped open the door, pressed it to Ranger's forearm and watched him fall to the floor.

HOLY SHIT! I had just stunned Batman!


End file.
